Friendship, Love and Truth.

The stream which I have just described is the great river of
Odd-Fellowship, and flows into the vast ocean of eternal peace, and
such is the momentum and indestructibility of Odd-Fellowship, that,
like a great river fed from inexhaustible sources, men may come and men
may go, but it goes on forever and forever.

Brothers, these are the streams flowing from the smitten rock whose
fountains you unseal.

Standing at the mouth of the Columbia River, one can hear the ocean
waves moaning, surging, thundering forevermore. You can not stay the
rushing tides that come and go, ebb and flow, until time shall be no
more; and there the great river of the west, the mighty Columbia,
pouring her floods into that vast, boundless sea, so shall
Odd-Fellowship pour her deep, exhaustless stream into futurity, and all
the combined forces of opposition, ignorance and fear shall have no
power to stay the onward rushing, overwhelming flood. Wafted back to
us from the unexplored shore across that sea–softly whispering through
the rose marine spirit of the mist–intuitive knowledge reveals the
throne of the Grand Lodge above, from which flows the pure river of
life, on whose shores grow the trees of knowledge and of life immortal,
which bear no fruit of sin, but whose leaves are for the healing of
poor, suffering humanity. Brothers, build such a character as will
cause Christ and the angels to rejoice when they behold it. Then, when
life’s work is done, when the blessed Master calls, you will not look
mournfully into the past, but will look eagerly into the mighty future
just opening before you.

And as your life goes out amidst the rustling of an angel’s wings–like
a summer sea asleep upon a sandy shore–you will not regret that you
practiced the principles laid down by our noble order,